Hybrid fiber/copper connector system and method

ABSTRACT

A hybrid fiber/copper connector assembly which permits repair of damaged fibers or copper conductors carried by a hybrid fiber/copper cable without requiring replacement of the entire connector assembly or the cable is disclosed. The hybrid fiber/copper connector assembly disclosed also allows individual hybrid fiber/copper connectors of the assembly to be converted from one gender to a different gender. The hybrid fiber/copper connector assembly disclosed also allows the individual hybrid fiber/copper connectors of the assembly to be converted from being hybrid fiber/copper connectors to being only fiber connectors or only copper connectors.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/787,197,filed Apr. 13, 2007, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser.No. 11/606,793, filed Nov. 29, 2006; which application is incorporatedherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to connectors for communicationscable. More specifically, the present invention relates to hybridfiber/copper connector systems and methods.

BACKGROUND

It is known to provide portable cameras and other data or imagegathering devices with cable to provide power to the device and to carrydata to and from the device. As these devices have increased in image ordata gathering capacity, greater demand for bandwidth to carry data toand from the devices has arisen. One way of providing this increasedbandwidth is to use optical fiber for carrying data to and from thedevices.

However, optical fiber may not be able to provide an adequate powersupply for the devices, so it is still desirable to have copper or othermetallic wires extending to the devices. Hybrid cables including bothcopper wires and optical fiber within a single cable have been used tomeet the power and data transfer needs of these devices. Since thetechniques and devices for terminating and connectorizing copper andfiber cables are quite different, new connectors or methods ofconnecting such hybrid cables to each have been developed. These knownconnectors do allow interconnection of cables and devices but requirethat the entire connector be replaced if any one element of the cable orconnector are damaged. Common hybrid cables may include two or moreoptical fibers and one or more pairs of copper wires. If any of thesewires or optical fibers, or the termination of these wires or opticalfibers are damaged, the entire connector must be replaced and all of thewires and fibers reterminated.

Improvements to hybrid connectors are desirable.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates generally to a hybrid fiber/copperconnector assembly. The present invention also relates to a hybridfiber/copper connector assembly which permits repair of damaged fibersor copper conductors carried by a hybrid cable without requiringreplacement of the entire hybrid fiber/copper connector assembly or thecable. The present invention also relates to connectors for hybridfiber/copper cables. The present invention further relates to a methodof repairing a hybrid fiber/copper cable and connector.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a hybrid fiber/copperconnector assembly provided in the form of a kit that allows conversionof a hybrid fiber/copper connector from one gender to a differentgender.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a hybrid fiber/copperconnector assembly that allows the hybrid fiber/copper connectors of theassembly to be converted from being hybrid connectors to being onlyfiber connectors or only copper connectors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the presentinvention and together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention. A brief description of the drawings is asfollows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hybrid fiber/copper connector assemblyhaving features that are examples of inventive aspects in accordancewith the principles of the present disclosure, the hybrid fiber/copperconnector assembly shown in a fully assembled configuration;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the hybrid fiber/copperconnector assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the first hybrid fiber/copperconnector of the hybrid fiber/copper connector assembly of FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the first inner housing half of thefirst hybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the first inner housing half of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the first inner housing half of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the first inner housing half of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a rear end view of the first inner housing half of FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the fiber optic adapter of the firsthybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 4, the fiber optic adapterconfigured to be placed within the first inner housing half of FIG. 5;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the second inner housing half of thefirst hybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 4;

FIG. 12 is a side view of the second inner housing half of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the second inner housing half of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a rear end view of the second inner housing half of FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the second inner housing half takenalong line 15-15 of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the conductor mount of the first hybridfiber/copper connector of FIG. 4, the conductor mount configured to beplaced within the second inner housing half of FIG. 11;

FIG. 17 is a front view of the conductor mount of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a side view of the conductor mount of FIG. 16 shown with theelectrical conductors removed;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the conductor mount retainer of thefirst hybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 4, the conductor mountretainer configured to be placed within the second inner housing half ofFIG. 11;

FIG. 20 is a top view of the conductor mount retainer of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a bottom view of the conductor mount retainer of FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is a side view of the conductor mount retainer of FIG. 19;

FIG. 23 is a rear end view of the conductor mount retainer of FIG. 19;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the strength member clamp of the firsthybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 4, the strength member clampconfigured to be placed within the second inner housing half of FIG. 11;

FIG. 25 is a top view of the strength member clamp of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a front end view of the strength member clamp of FIG. 24;

FIG. 27 is a side view of the strength member clamp of FIG. 24;

FIG. 28 illustrates a top perspective view of the first inner housinghalf and the second inner housing half of the first hybrid fiber/copperconnector of FIG. 4 in a partially assembled configuration, the firstinner housing half and the second inner housing half configured to beremovably mounted together to form an inner connector assembly of thefirst hybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 4;

FIG. 29 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the first inner housinghalf and the second inner housing half of the first hybrid fiber/copperconnector of FIG. 4 in a partially assembled configuration;

FIG. 30 illustrates an outer housing of the first hybrid fiber/copperconnector of FIG. 4, the outer housing configured to receive the firstand second inner housing halves of FIGS. 28-29;

FIG. 31 illustrates a rear end view of the first hybrid fiber/copperconnector of FIG. 4, the first hybrid fiber/copper connector shown in afully assembled configuration;

FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 32-32 of FIG. 31;

FIG. 33 is an exploded perspective view of the second hybridfiber/copper connector of the hybrid fiber/copper connector assembly ofFIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 34 is a perspective view of the first inner housing half of thesecond hybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 33;

FIG. 35 is a top view of the first inner housing half of FIG. 34;

FIG. 36 is a bottom view of the first inner housing half of FIG. 34;

FIG. 37 is a side view of the first inner housing half of FIG. 34;

FIG. 38 is a rear end view of the first inner housing half of FIG. 34;

FIG. 39 is a perspective view of the fiber optic connector retainer ofthe second hybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 33, the fiber opticconnector retainer configured to be placed within the first innerhousing half of FIG. 34;

FIG. 40 is a bottom view of the fiber optic connector retainer of FIG.39;

FIG. 41 is a top view of the fiber optic connector retainer of FIG. 39;

FIG. 42 is a side view of the fiber optic connector retainer of FIG. 39;

FIG. 43 is a perspective view of the second inner housing half of thesecond hybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 33;

FIG. 44 is a side view of the second inner housing half of FIG. 43;

FIG. 45 is a bottom view of the second inner housing half of FIG. 43;

FIG. 46 is a rear end view of the second inner housing half of FIG. 43;

FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view of the second inner housing half takenalong line 47-47 of FIG. 46;

FIG. 48 is a perspective view of the conductor mount retainer of thesecond hybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 33, the conductor mountretainer configured to be placed within the second inner housing half ofFIG. 43;

FIG. 49 is a top view of the conductor mount retainer of FIG. 48;

FIG. 50 is a side view of the conductor mount retainer of FIG. 48;

FIG. 51 is a rear end view of the conductor mount retainer of FIG. 48;

FIG. 52 illustrates a top perspective view of the first inner housinghalf and the second inner housing half of the second hybrid fiber/copperconnector of FIG. 33 in a partially assembled configuration, the firstinner housing half and the second inner housing half configured to beremovably mounted together to form an inner connector assembly of thesecond hybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 33;

FIG. 53 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the first inner housinghalf and the second inner housing half of the second hybrid fiber/copperconnector of FIG. 33 in a partially assembled configuration;

FIG. 54 illustrates an outer housing of the second hybrid fiber/copperconnector of FIG. 33, the outer housing configured to receive the firstand second inner housing halves of FIGS. 52-53;

FIG. 55 illustrates a rear end view of the second hybrid fiber/copperconnector of FIG. 33, the second hybrid fiber/copper connector shown ina fully assembled configuration;

FIG. 56 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 56-56 of FIG. 55;

FIG. 57 illustrates a first quad fiber connector to be assembled bymounting together two of the first inner housing halves of FIG. 5;

FIG. 58 illustrates a second quad fiber connector to be assembled bymounting together two of the first inner housing halves of FIG. 34, thesecond quad fiber connector configured to mate with the first quad fiberconnector of FIG. 57;

FIG. 59 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a first hybridfiber/copper connector that is configured to be a part of an assemblysimilar to the hybrid fiber/copper connector assembly of FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 60 is a side view of the second embodiment of the first hybridfiber/copper connector of FIG. 59;

FIG. 61 is an exploded perspective view of the second embodiment of thefirst hybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 59;

FIG. 62 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a second hybridfiber/copper connector that is configured to mate with the secondembodiment of the first hybrid fiber/copper connector of FIGS. 59-61 toform an assembly similar to the hybrid fiber/copper connector assemblyof FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 63 is a side view of the second embodiment of the second hybridfiber/copper connector of FIG. 62;

FIG. 64 is an exploded perspective view of the second embodiment of thesecond hybrid fiber/copper connector of FIG. 62;

FIG. 65 is a front perspective view of a bulkhead female hybridfiber/copper connector having features that are examples of inventiveaspects in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 66 is a rear perspective view of the bulkhead female hybridfiber/copper connector of FIG. 65;

FIG. 67 is an exploded perspective view of the bulkhead female hybridfiber/copper connector of FIG. 65;

FIG. 68 is a front view of the bulkhead female hybrid fiber/copperconnector of FIG. 65;

FIG. 69 is a side view of the bulkhead female hybrid fiber/copperconnector of FIG. 65;

FIG. 70 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 70-70 of FIG. 65;

FIG. 71 is a front perspective view of a bulkhead male hybridfiber/copper connector having features that are examples of inventiveaspects in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 72 is a rear perspective view of the bulkhead male hybridfiber/copper connector of FIG. 71;

FIG. 73 is an exploded perspective view of the bulkhead male hybridfiber/copper connector of FIG. 71;

FIG. 74 is a rear view of the bulkhead male hybrid fiber/copperconnector of FIG. 71;

FIG. 75 is a side view of the bulkhead male hybrid fiber/copperconnector of FIG. 70; and

FIG. 76 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 76-76 of FIG. 72.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary aspects of thepresent invention that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughoutthe drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

The present disclosure relates to a hybrid fiber/copper connectorassembly. Aspects of the hybrid fiber/copper connector assembly includeeach connector having fiber and copper connecting components to connecttwo hybrid fiber/copper cables.

One preferred embodiment of a connector assembly permits repair ofdamaged fibers or copper conductors carried by a hybrid fiber/coppercable without requiring replacement of the entire connector assembly orthe cable. Aspects of the present disclosure also allow the hybridfiber/copper connectors of the assembly to be converted from one genderto a different gender. Further aspects of the present disclosure allowthe hybrid fiber/copper connectors of the assembly to be converted frombeing hybrid connectors to being only fiber connectors or only copperconnectors.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a hybrid fiber/copper connector assembly 10having features that are examples of inventive aspects in accordancewith the principles of the present disclosure is illustrated. The hybridfiber/copper connector assembly includes a first hybrid fiber/copperconnector 12 and a second hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 adapted tomate with the first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. The first hybridfiber/copper connector 12 may also be referred to herein as a femalegender hybrid fiber/copper connector and the second hybrid fiber/copperconnector 14 may be referred to herein as a male gender hybridfiber/copper connector.

Each of the first and second hybrid fiber/copper connectors 12, 14includes an inner connector assembly that is received within an outerhousing. The inner connector assembly 16 of the first hybridfiber/copper connector 12 is terminated to a segment of hybridfiber/copper cable carrying both optical fibers and copper wires.Similarly, the inner connector assembly 18 of the second hybridfiber/copper connector 14 is terminated to a segment of hybridfiber/copper cable carrying both optical fibers and copper wires. Onceterminated, inner connector assemblies 16, 18 are placed within theouter housings 20, 22 of the hybrid fiber/copper connectors 12, 14.

Before termination to the first and second hybrid fiber/copperconnectors 12, 14, each cable segment is inserted through an endcap/cable clamp 24, 26, respectively, that is threadably mounted to theouter housings 20, 22. The end caps 24, 26 are configured to clamp thehybrid fiber/copper cable segments to their respective hybridfiber/copper connectors 12, 14 and provide a weather tight seal at thecable receiving ends 28, 30, respectively, of the first and secondhybrid fiber/copper connectors 12, 14. Once the end caps 24, 26 havebeen threaded and the hybrid cable segments connected to the respectivehybrid connectors 12, 14, the first and the second hybrid fiber/copperconnectors 12, 14 can, then, be mated to each other to establish bothoptical and electrical connection between the two hybrid cable segments.The outer housings 20, 22 of the two connectors 12, 14 cooperate to forma secure and generally weather-tight cover about the connections of thefiber strands and copper conductors within the two connectors 12, 14.

A hybrid fiber/copper cable might be used in broadcast communications.For example, such a cable might be used to connect a camera to aproduction facility, such as at a sporting event or other entertainmentvenue. Certain known prior art assemblies for connecting segments ofbroadcast cable might require the use of a new assembly in case offailure of any single component within the assembly. Alternatively, thefailure of any of the contacts within either connector of a knownassembly might necessitate the retermination of one of the cablesegments.

As will be described in further detail below, the hybrid fiber/copperconnector assembly 10 of the present disclosure is configured to permitrepair or replacement of damaged components of the assembly. Referenceherein will also be made to certain examples of hybrid fiber/copperconnector assemblies that facilitate repair or replacement of damagedcomponents of the assembly without requiring the use of a new assemblythat are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. U.S.2006/0056769 A1 and U.S. 2006/0233496 A1, the entire disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. U.S. 2006/0056769 A1 and U.S.2006/0233496 A1 illustrate a schematic cross-section of a hybridfiber/copper communications cable that may be suitable for use with thehybrid fiber/copper connector assembly 10 of the present disclosure. Thehybrid cable, illustrated in FIG. 4 of U.S. 2006/0056769 A1 and U.S.2006/0233496 A1, includes a pair of jacketed optical fibers and fourjacketed copper wires, extending adjacent a linearly extending strengthmember. This is one example configuration of a hybrid cable that mightbe suitable for use with the hybrid connector assembly 10 of the presentdisclosure. Other configurations of hybrid cables are also known, withmore or fewer optical fibers and/or copper wires, which may also be usedwith the hybrid fiber/copper connector assembly 10 of the presentdisclosure.

When used in the broadcast camera environment described above, one ofthe optical fibers may be used to transmit video and related audiosignals to the camera and the second optical fiber may be used totransmit video and audio captured by the camera to the productionfacility or some other location. One pair of copper conductors may beused to provide power to operate the camera, while the other pair ofcopper conductors may be used to provide communications between theproduction facility and the camera operator. The number of fiber strandsand copper conductors extending within the hybrid cable may be varied asrequired to support the desired usage and communication bandwidth of thecamera.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, the hybrid fiber/copperconnector assembly 10 of the present disclosure is configured to allowthe first and second hybrid fiber/copper connectors 12, 14 of theassembly 10 to be converted from one gender to a different gender. Assuch, if an existing segment of a hybrid fiber/copper cable segment isterminated, for example, to a first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12(i.e., a female gender connector) and an available second segment of ahybrid cable is also terminated to a first hybrid fiber/copper connector12 (i.e., a female gender connector), the first hybrid fiber/copperconnector 12 may be disassembled and converted into a second hybridfiber/copper connector 14 (i.e., a male gender connector), withoutretermination of the cable segment. The converted male gender hybridfiber/copper connector 14 can, then, be mated to the female genderhybrid fiber/copper connector 12.

Furthermore, according to another aspect of the disclosure, the modularconfiguration of the hybrid fiber/copper connector assembly 10 of thepresent disclosure allows both the first and the second hybridfiber/copper connectors 12, 14 of the assembly 10 to be converted frombeing hybrid connectors to being fiber-only connectors (e.g., quad fiberconnectors) or copper-only connectors (e.g., having eight copperconductors).

Referring now to FIG. 4, an exploded view of the first, female gender,hybrid fiber/copper connector 12 is illustrated. The first hybridfiber/copper connector 12 includes a first inner housing half 32 and asecond inner housing half 34. The first and the second inner housinghalves 32, 34 detachably mate together to form an inner connectorassembly 16 of the first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. Once thefirst and the second inner housing halves 32, 34 are terminated to ahybrid cable and joined together, they are inserted into an outerhousing 20 of the first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, and as discussed above, before the hybrid cable segmentsare terminated to the inner connector assemblies 16, 18 of the first andsecond hybrid fiber/copper connectors 12, 14, the hybrid cable segmentsare inserted through end caps 24, 26. The end caps 24, 26 are, then,threaded onto the outer housings 20, 22 to clamp the hybrid cables andto seal it against the outer housings 20, 22.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the first inner housing half 32 is configuredto hold the fiber components of the connector 12 while the second innerhousing half 34 is configured to hold the electrical/copper componentsof the connector 12.

Now referring to FIGS. 5-9, the first inner housing half 32 of the firsthybrid fiber/copper connector 12 is illustrated. The first inner housinghalf 32 includes an elongated body 36 defining an interior 38. The body36 includes a mating end 40 and a cable receiving end 42. The firstinner housing half 32 defines a pair of alignment pins 44 and a pair ofpin openings 46 for cooperatively mating with the second inner housinghalf 34 (see second inner housing half 34 in FIGS. 11-15). Adjacent themating end 40 of the first inner housing half 32 is a pocket 48configured to carry a fiber optic adapter 50.

An adapter 50 configured to be placed within the first inner housing 32is shown in FIG. 10. As depicted, the fiber optic adapter 50 is a duplexadapter including a front end 52 and a rear end 54. Two fiber opticconnectors mounted into the front end 52 of the fiber optic adapter 50optically mate with two fiber optic connectors mounted into the rear end54 of the fiber optic adapter 50. As shown in FIG. 28, the fiber opticconnectors 56 that are received within the fiber optic adapter 50 areLX.5 format connectors. As depicted, the adapter 50 is configured toreceive and optically connect two pairs of LX.5 connectors 56. LX.5connectors and mating adapters are available from ADCTelecommunications, Inc. Other connector and adapter formats can also beused.

As shown in the end view in FIG. 31, the fiber optic adapter 50 includesshutters 58 adjacent the front and rear ends 52, 54 that pivot betweenan open position and a closed position. The shutters 58 are sized suchthat in the closed position, the shutters 58 block direct visualinspection through an open front end 52 or an open rear end 54. As aresult, in an event a fiber optic connector 56 is connected to one endof the fiber optic adapter 50, the closed shutter 58 on the opposite endprevents a technician from looking directly at light on the opposite endof the fiber optic adapter 50. Further details of the fiber opticadapter 50 and the fiber optic connectors 56 that are configured to beinserted into the adapter 50 are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,883,995and 6,142,676, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

The fiber optic adapter 50 includes a pair of flanges 60 on the sides ofthe adapter 50. The flanges 60 are received within recesses 62 definedin the first inner housing half 32.

Referring back to FIGS. 5-9, the mating end 40 of the body 36 of thefirst inner housing half 32, includes an exterior recessed portion 64defined on a first side 66 of the body 36. The recessed portion 64 isconfigured to act as a keying feature when the second hybridfiber/copper connector 14 is mated to the first hybrid fiber/copperconnector 12, as will be discussed in further detail below. In thismanner, the correct orientation of the mating ends of the first andsecond connectors 12, 14 are obtained when the two hybrid connectors 12,14 are mated.

FIGS. 11-15 illustrate the second inner housing half 34 of the first,female gender, hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. The second innerhousing half 34 is configured to house the copper components of thefirst hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. As shown, the second innerhousing half 34 includes an elongated body 68 defining an interior 70.The body 68 includes a mating end 72 and a cable receiving end 74.

The second inner housing half 34 includes a pair of alignment pins 76and a pair of pin openings 78 for cooperatively mating with thecorresponding pins 44 and openings 46 of the first inner housing half32.

The second inner housing half 34 includes an integrally formed conductorpin support 80 adjacent the mating end 72. The conductor pin support 80defines four channels 82. The channels 82 include therein fourconductive pins 84. The conductive pins 84 are shown in thecross-sectional view in FIG. 15 which is taken along line 15-15 of FIG.14. As depicted, each of the four conductive pins 84 includes two femaleends 86. The conductive pins 84 are generally permanently mounted withinthe pin support 80 and form a part of the second inner housing half 34.

As in the first inner housing half 32, the second inner housing half 34defines an exterior recessed portion 88 on a first side 90 of the pinsupport 80. The recess 88 is configured align with the recess 64 of thefirst inner housing half 32 when the two housing halves 32, 34 arejoined to define a big recess. The big recess acts as a keying featurewhen the first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12 is mated to the secondhybrid fiber/copper connector 14 such that the correct orientation ofthe mating ends of the first and second connectors 12, 14 are obtained.

The body 68 of the second inner housing half 34 includes an exteriorcircumferential groove 92. The body 68 also defines opposing slots 94positioned at each end of the circumferential groove 92. Thecircumferential groove 92 and the slots 94 accommodate a strength memberthat might be a part of a hybrid cable.

The interior 70 of the second inner housing half 34 is configured toreceive a conductor mount 96. The conductor mount 96 is shown in FIGS.16-18. The conductor mount 96 includes a generally hemispherical body 98configured to match the curved shape of the interior 70 of the secondinner housing half 34. The conductor mount 96, as depicted, includesfour forwardly protruding conductive pins 100. The forward ends 102 ofthe conductive pins 100 are adapted to be inserted within the channels82 defined by the pin support 80 at the mating end 72 of the secondinner housing half 34. As shown in FIG. 29, the conductor mount 96 isremovably inserted into a recess 104 in the interior 70 of the body 68and slid forwardly toward the pin support 80. The conductor mount 96 isslid until the conductive pins 100 physically and electrically mate withthe rear female ends 86 of the conductive pins 84 in the channels 82 ofthe pin support 80.

The rear ends 106 of the conductive pins 100 are exposed throughopenings 108 defined on the conductor mount 96. The rear ends 106 of theconductive pins 100 are terminated to copper wires of a hybridfiber/copper cable. Since the conductor mount 96 is a removable piece,the conductor mount 96 can be removed from the second inner housing half34 of the first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12 (i.e., female genderconnector) and reinserted into the second inner housing of the secondhybrid fiber/copper connector 14 (i.e., male gender connector) as partof the conversion of the genders of the hybrid connectors 12, 14.

The conductor mount 96 is retained within the second inner housing half34 by a conductor mount retainer 110 shown in FIGS. 19-23. As shown, theconductor mount retainer 110 includes an elongated body 112 with a frontportion 114, a rear portion 116 and a middle portion 118. The frontportion 114 defines a U-shaped body 120 with a pair of forwardlyextending legs 122, 123. Each leg 122, 123 defines a pair of flanges 124on the sides of the legs 122, 123. When the conductor mount retainer 110is placed into the second inner housing half 34, a rib 126 defined inthe interior 70 of the second inner housing half 34 is received betweenthe flanges 124. The rib 126 and the flanges 124 help hold the conductormount retainer 110 within the second inner housing half 34 with afriction fit.

The first leg 122 also defines a curved portion 126. The curved portion126 accommodates an alignment pin opening 78 defined in the second innerhousing half 34 when the conductor mount retainer 110 is slidablyinserted into the body 68 of the second inner housing half 34.

The middle portion 118 of the conductor mount retainer 110 includes arecess 130 for receiving a strength member clamp 132. The strengthmember clamp 132 is illustrated in FIGS. 24-27. The middle portion 118of the conductor mount retainer 110 defines a slot 134 for receiving atab 136 of the strength member clamp 132 for properly orientating theclamp 132. The strength member clamp 132 defines a throughhole 138extending laterally through its body 140. The strength member clamp 132defines a pair of laterally extending arms 142 that define a pocket 144thereinbetween. The strength member clamp 132 is shown inserted into therecess 130 of the middle portion 118 of the conductor mount retainer 110in FIG. 29.

Referring back to FIGS. 24-27, a strength member of a cable is to bereceived from the cable receiving end 28 of the first hybridfiber/copper connector 12. The strength member is inserted through anopening 146 created between the body 68 of the second inner housing half34 and the rear portion 116 of the conductor mount retainer 110. Thestrength member is, then, to be guided downwardly between the arms 142of the strength member clamp 132 and then upwardly and around thecircumferential groove 92. Once the strength member has been wrappedaround the circumferential groove 92, it is received into thethroughhole 138 of the strength member clamp 132 at the opposite side ofthe arms 142. The strength member, then, comes out of the throughhole138 between the arms 142 and is crimped at this location. The crimpedend of the strength member is held in the pocket 144 defined between thearms 142. According to one embodiment, the strength member clamp 132depicted herein is rated to hold 100 lbs. of force.

In FIGS. 28-29, the first and second inner housing halves 32, 34 areshown with the interior components inserted into the housing halves 32,34. As shown, the fiber optic adapter 50 in the first inner housing half32 receives a pair of fiber optic connectors 56 which may be terminatedto the optical fibers of a hybrid fiber/copper cable. The interior 38 ofthe body 36 of the first inner housing half 32 may accommodate opticalslack storage. During a gender conversion, these fiber optic connectors56, just like the conductor mount 96 of the second inner housing half34, may be removed from the fiber optic adapter 50 and from the firstinner housing half 32 and remounted within a first housing half of thesecond hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 (i.e., male gender connector),to convert the gender of the hybrid fiber/copper connector. Such a malegender connector 14 having two male inner housing halves are shown inFIG. 33. The fiber optic connectors 56 and the fiber optic adapters 50depicted in the present disclosure are described in further detail inU.S. Pat. No. 5,883,995, the entire disclosure of which has beenincorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 30 illustrates the outer housing 20 of the first hybridfiber/copper connector 12. As discussed before, once the first and thesecond housing halves 32, 34 are joined, the inner connector assembly 16is slidable inserted into the outer housing 20 from a cable receivingend 28. FIGS. 31-32 show the first and second inner housing halves 32,34 of the first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12 placed into the outerhousing 20 of the first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12.

The outer circumferential wall 150 of the outer housing 20 includesgripping features 152. The mating end 154 of the outer housing 20includes a plurality of circumferentially arranged ball bearings 156.The ball bearings 156 at the mating end 154 are configured to engage acircumferential recess 158 defined on an intermediate circumferentialwall 160 of the outer housing 22 of the second hybrid fiber/copperconnector 14. When the outer housings 20, 22 of the two hybridconnectors 12, 14 are coupled, a sliding ring 162 of the outer housing22 of the second hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 is slid over themating end 154 and the ball bearings 156 of the outer housing 20 of thefirst hybrid connector 12 to hold the two hybrid fiber/copper connectors12, 14 in a mated configuration. The sliding locking ring 162 of theouter housing 22 of the second hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 and therecess 158 for receiving the ball bearings 156 is illustrated in FIGS.1-3 and 54. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the sliding ring 162 is shown as havingbeen slid over the ball bearings 156 of the outer housing 20 of thefirst hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. The sliding ring 162 is springbiased toward a locking position to hold the ball bearings 156 againstthe recess 158 on the intermediate circumferential wall 160 of the outerhousing 22 of the second hybrid fiber/copper connector 14.

As discussed previously, before a hybrid cable segment is to beterminated to the inner connector assembly 16 of the first hybridfiber/copper connector 12, the hybrid cable segment is inserted throughan end cap cable clamp 24. The end cap 24 is threadingly mated to thecable receiving end 28 of the outer housing 20 of the first hybridfiber/copper connector 12. As the end cap 24 is threaded, a collet 164within the end cap 24 is compressed by a tapered rear seal member 166.Please refer to FIG. 2 for a cross-sectional view of the end cap 24 andthe collet 164. As the collet 164 is compressed radially inwardly, itseals the cable jacket to the outer housing 20 of the first hybridfiber/copper connector 12. A similar cable clamp and operation thereofis described in further detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,575,786 and6,846,988, the entire disclosures of which have been incorporated hereinby reference.

Referring now to FIG. 33, an exploded view of the second, male gender,hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 is illustrated. The second hybridfiber/copper connector 14 includes a first inner housing half 170 and asecond inner housing half 172. The first and the second inner housinghalves 170, 172 detachably mate together to form the inner connectorassembly 18 of the second hybrid fiber/copper connector 14. Once thefirst and the second inner housing halves 170, 172 are mated andterminated to a hybrid cable, they are inserted into an outer housing 22of the second hybrid fiber/copper connector 14.

As in the first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12, the first innerhousing half 170 is configured to hold the fiber components of theconnector 14 while the second inner housing half 172 is configured tohold the electrical/copper components of the connector 14.

Now referring to FIGS. 34-38, the first inner housing half 170 of themale hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 is illustrated. The first innerhousing half 170 includes an elongated body 174 defining an interior 176including a mating end 178 and a cable receiving end 180. The firstinner housing half 170 defines a pair of alignment pins 182 and a pairof pin openings 183 for cooperatively mating with the second innerhousing half 172.

Adjacent the mating end 178 of the first inner housing half 170 are apair of longitudinal slots 184 configured to hold a pair of fiber opticconnectors 56. The fiber optic connectors 56 are inserted in aside-by-side orientation, extending out forwardly from the mating end178 of the first inner housing half 170. The longitudinal slots 184 areconfigured to align the fiber optic connectors 56 with the fiber opticadapter 50 of the first hybrid connector 12 when the two hybridconnectors 12, 14 are mated. The interior 176 of the body 174 of thefirst inner housing half 170 may accommodate optical slack storage.

The first inner housing half 170 defines a forwardly protruding tab 186at the mating end 178 of the first inner housing half 170. The tab 186is located on a first side 188 of the body 174. The tab 186 isconfigured to mate with the recess 64 defined on the body 36 of thefirst inner housing half 32 of the female hybrid fiber/copper connector12 to act as a keying feature when the second hybrid fiber/copperconnector 14 is mated to the first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. Inthis manner, the correct orientation of the mating ends of the first andsecond connectors 12, 14 are obtained when the two hybrid connectors 12,14 are mated. As will be discussed below, the second inner housing half172 of the male hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 also includes aforwardly extending tab 190 that aligns with the tab 186 of the firstinner housing half 170. The two tabs 186, 190 together form a large tabthat engages the large recess defined on the combined inner housings 32,34 of the female hybrid connector 12. The two tabs 186, 190 also act toprotect the fiber optic connectors 56 as the tabs 186, 190 extendalongside of the fiber optic connectors 56.

A connector retainer 192 configured to be placed over the fiber opticconnectors 56 is shown in FIGS. 39-42. The connector retainer 192includes a generally flat body 194 that is adapted to lie flush with theupper face of the first inner housing half 170. It should be noted thatall of the components of the inner housing halves 32, 34, 170, 172 areconfigured to lie flush with the upper faces of the inner housing halves32, 34, 170, 172 so that different inner housing halves such as twofirst inner housing halves 32, 170 (of either the first or the secondhybrid fiber/copper connector) or two second inner housing halves 34,172 (of either the first or the second hybrid fiber/copper connector)can be mated to form different kinds of connectors. Two such exampleshave been shown in FIGS. 57 and 58, wherein two first inner housinghalves 32 of a female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12 have been joinedto form the female end of a quad fiber optic connector 200 and two firstinner housing halves 170 of a male hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 havebeen mated to form the male end of a quad fiber optic connector 202 thatis to mate with the female quad fiber connector 200. Other combinationconfigurations are certainly possible since all of the inner componentsare mounted flush with the upper faces of the inner housing halves 32,34, 170, 172.

Still referring to FIGS. 39-42, the connector retainer 192, as depicted,includes a pair of downwardly extending tabs 196 that are received intorecesses 198 formed on the first inner housing half 170 to frictionallyhold the connector retainer 192. The connector retainer 192 includes alongitudinal slot 193 at the front end for accommodating a separatorwall 191 that separates the two fiber optic connectors 56. Thelongitudinal slot 193 allows the connector retainer 192 to lie flushwith the inner housing half upper face.

Underneath the connector retainer 192, on each side of the longitudinalslot 193, is a pair of ramped tabs 195. The ramped tabs 195 areconfigured to hold down the cantilever snap fit structures 197 of thefiber optic connectors 56 such that the fiber optic connectors 56 do notlock into the fiber optic adapters 50 when the male and female hybridconnectors 12, 14 are mated. Please refer to U.S. Pat. No. 5,883,995,the entire disclosure of which has been incorporated herein byreference, for further description of the fiber optic connector 56depicted and the interlocking mechanism of the fiber optic connector 56and the fiber optic adapter 50.

The fiber optic connectors 56 that are inserted directly into the firstinner housing half 170 of the male hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 orthat are connected to the fiber optic adapter 50 within the first innerhousing half 32 of the female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12 areterminated to the optical fibers of a hybrid fiber/copper cable segment.In certain embodiments, the optical fibers of the cable segment may beterminated to the ferrules of the fiber optic connectors 56 as known inthe art.

In other embodiments, the fiber optic connectors 56 may befield-terminable. As such, the fiber optic connectors 56 may be providedwith a preterminated fiber stub that can be heat-spliced in the fieldusing a V-groove for aligning the fiber stub from the connector 56 andthe optical fiber coming from the hybrid cable. In certain otherembodiments, the fiber optic connectors 56 may be provided as part of aninsert that includes the V-groove, wherein optical fibers coming fromthe hybrid cable may be spliced to the fiber stubs in the fieldutilizing the V-groove for alignment. An example field terminationmethod is described in further detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,323, theentire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Althoughheated epoxy may be used, other known techniques for field-splicing theoptical fiber ends can be utilized.

FIGS. 43-47 illustrate the second inner housing half 172 of the secondhybrid fiber/copper connector 14. The second inner housing half 172 isconfigured to house the copper components of the second, male, hybridfiber/copper connector 14. As shown, the second inner housing half 172includes an elongated body 204 defining an interior 206. The body 204includes a mating end 207 and a cable receiving end 208. Similar to thefirst inner housing half 170, the second inner housing half 172 includesa pair of alignment pins 210 and a pair of pin openings 212 forcooperatively mating with the corresponding pins 182 and openings 183 ofthe first inner housing half 170.

Adjacent the mating end 207 of the second inner housing half 172 is anintegrally formed conductor pin support 214. The conductor pin support214 defines four channels 216 for nesting four conductive pins 218. Theconductive pins 218 are shown in the cross-sectional view in FIG. 47which is taken along line 47-47 of FIG. 46. As depicted, each of thefour conductive pins 218 includes a female end 220 and a forwardlyprotruding male end 222. The conductive pins 218 are generallypermanently mounted within the pin support 214 and form a part of thesecond inner housing half 172.

As in the first inner housing half 170, at the mating end 206 of thesecond inner housing half 172, there is a tab 190 protruding forwardlydefined on a first side 226 of the body 204. The tab 190 is configuredto mate with the recess 88 defined on the body 68 of the second innerhousing half 34 of the female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12 to act asa keying feature when the second hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 ismated to the first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. In this manner, thecorrect orientation of the mating ends of the first and secondconnectors 12, 14 are obtained when the two hybrid connectors 12, 14 aremated. The tab 190 aligns with the tab 186 of the first inner housinghalf 170 to form a large tab. The large tab engages the large recessdefined on the combined inner housings of the female hybrid fiber/copperconnector 12. As discussed above, the two tabs 186, 190 also act toprotect the fiber optic connectors 56 as the tabs 186, 190 extendalongside of the fiber optic connectors 56.

It should also be noted that, if two first inner housing halves 170 orif two second inner housing halves 172 of a male hybrid fiber/copperconnector 14 are mated to form, for example, a quad fiber opticconnector 202, the tabs 186 will be positioned diagonally from eachother and not aligned vertically with each other. Please see FIG. 58.This provides a keying feature for mating with, for example, a connectorformed from two first inner housing halves 32 or two second innerhousing halves 34 of a female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. Pleasesee FIG. 57. The recesses 64 on the female hybrid fiber/copper connector12 also become positioned diagonally such that the tabs 186 of a quadmale 202 can only be mated with the recesses 64 of another mating quadfemale connector 200. Please see FIGS. 57 and 58 for the keying feature.

Still referring to FIGS. 43-47, the body 204 of the second inner housinghalf 172 includes an exterior circumferential groove 230. The body 204also defines opposing slots 232 positioned at each end of thecircumferential groove 230. The circumferential groove 230 and the slots232, as discussed above, accommodate a strength member that might be apart of a hybrid cable terminated to the male hybrid connector 14.

The interior 206 of the second inner housing half 172 is configured toreceive a conductor mount that is identical to the conductor mount 96shown in FIGS. 16-18. The forward ends 102 of the conductive pins 100are adapted to be inserted within the channels 216 defined by the pinsupport 214 at the mating end 207 of the second inner housing half 172.As shown in FIG. 49, the conductor mount 96 is inserted into a recess234 in the interior 206 of the body 204 and slid forwardly toward thepin support 214 until the conductive pins 100 physically andelectrically mate with the female ends 220 of the conductive pins 218that are in the channels 216 of the pin support 214. The male ends 222of the conductive pins 218 protrude out for electrically mating with thefemale ends 86 of the conductive pins 84 of the female hybridfiber/copper connector 12.

As in the female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12, the rear ends 106 ofthe conductive pins 100 are exposed through openings 108 defined on theconductor mount 96. The rear ends 106 of the conductive pins 100 areterminated to copper wires of a hybrid fiber/copper cable, just as inthe female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. And, since the conductormount 96 can be removed from the second inner housing half 172 of thesecond hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 (i.e., male gender connector)and reinserted into the second inner housing half 34 of the first hybridfiber/copper connector 12 (i.e., female gender connector), the gender ofthe hybrid connector 14 can be converted.

The conductor mount 96 is retained within the second inner housing half172 by a conductor mount retainer 240 shown in FIGS. 48-51. Theconductor mount retainer 240 is similar to the conductor mount retainer110 of FIGS. 19-23. However, the conductor mount retainer 240 is shapedfor insertion into the male gender hybrid fiber/copper connector 14. Asshown, the conductor mount retainer 240 includes an elongated body 242with a front portion 244, a rear portion 246 and a middle portion 248.The front portion 244 defines a U-shaped body 250 with a pair offorwardly extending legs 252, 253. The first leg 252 defines a pair offlanges 254 on the side of the leg 252. The flanges 252 are configuredto receive a rib 256 on the interior 207 of the second inner housinghalf 172 for holding the conductor mount retainer 240 with a frictionfit within the body 204. The second leg 253 defines a curved portion 258for accommodating the alignment pin opening 212 defined in the secondinner housing half 172.

The middle portion 248 of the conductor mount retainer 240 includes arecess 260 for receiving a strength member clamp. The strength memberclamp used in the male hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 is the sameclamp 132 illustrated in FIGS. 24-27. The middle portion 248 of theconductor mount retainer 240 defines a slot 262 for receiving the tab136 of the strength member clamp 132 for proper orientation of the clamp132. As shown in FIG. 53, the strength member clamp 132 is inserted intothe recess 260 of the middle portion 248 of the conductor mount retainer240 so as to lie flush with the upper face of the second inner housinghalf 172.

As shown in FIG. 53, along with a tab 264 at the rear portion of theconductor mount retainer 240, the strength member clamp 132 defines arecess 266 for receiving a second rib 268 located in the interior 207 ofthe body 204 of the second inner housing half 172.

As in the female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12, the strength memberis inserted through an opening 270 created between the body 204 of thesecond inner housing half 172 and the rear portion of the conductormount retainer 240. The strength member is, then, guided downwardlybetween the arms 142 of the strength member clamp 132 and then upwardlyand around the circumferential groove. Once the strength member haswrapped around the circumferential groove 230, it is received into thethroughhole 138 of the strength member clamp 132 at the opposite side ofthe arms 142 and comes out of the throughhole 138 of the strength memberclamp 132. It is crimped in the pocket 144 defined between the arms 142.

In FIGS. 52 and 53, the first and second inner housing halves 170, 172are shown with the interior components inserted into the first andsecond inner housing halves 170, 172. As shown, the first inner housinghalf 170 receives a pair of fiber optic connectors 56 which may beterminated to the optical fibers of a hybrid fiber/copper cable. Thesefiber optic connectors 56 are retained by the connector retainer 192 andthe cantilever snap fit structures 197 are held down to prevent lockingof the fiber optic connectors 56 within the fiber optic adapter 50 ofthe female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. These fiber opticconnectors 56, just like the conductor mount 96 of the second innerhousing half 172, may be removed from the first inner housing half 170of the male hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 and remounted within afirst housing half 32 of a female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12 (tothe fiber optic adapters therein), to convert the gender of the hybridfiber/copper connector 14. Such a female gender connector 12 and the twoinner housing halves are shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 54 illustrates the outer housing 22 of the second hybridfiber/copper connector 14. As discussed before, once the first and thesecond housing halves 170, 172 are joined, the inner connector assembly18 is slidably inserted into the outer housing 22 from a cable receivingend 30. FIGS. 55-56 show the first and second inner housing halves 170,172 of the second hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 placed into the outerhousing 22 of the second hybrid fiber/copper connector 14.

When the outer housings 20, 22 of the two hybrid connectors are coupled,a sliding ring 162 of the outer housing 22 of the second hybridfiber/copper connector 14 is slid over the mating end 154 and the ballbearings 156 of the outer housing 20 of the first hybrid connector 12 tohold the two hybrid fiber/copper connectors 12, 14 in a matedconfiguration. The sliding locking ring 162 of the outer housing 22 ofthe second hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 and the recess 158 forreceiving the ball bearings 156 is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 and 54. InFIGS. 1 and 2, the sliding ring 162 is shown as having been slid overthe ball bearings 156 of the outer housing 20 of the first hybridfiber/copper connector 12. The sliding ring 162 is spring biased towarda locking position to hold the ball bearings 156 against the recess 158on the intermediate circumferential wall 160 of the outer housing 22 ofthe second hybrid fiber/copper connector 14.

As discussed previously for the female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12,before the hybrid cable is to be terminated to the inner connectorassembly 18 of the second hybrid fiber/copper connector 14, the hybridcable is inserted through an end cap cable clamp 26. As depicted, thecable clamps 24, 26 and the cable receiving ends 28, 30 of the outerhousings 20, 22 of the hybrid connectors include wrench flat portionwith a plurality of opposing wrench flats 280 to aid the assembly ofcable clamps 24, 26 to outer the housings 20, 22. As shown on FIGS. 2-3,30, and 54, the cable receiving ends 28, 30 of the outer housings 20, 22may be threaded to receive and engage the cable clamps 24, 26.

In another embodiment of the hybrid fiber/copper connector assembly,instead of being provided to connect two cable segments, the firsthybrid fiber/copper connector 12 or the second hybrid fiber/copperconnector 14 can be provided as part of a bulkhead configuration such asseen in FIGS. 8-11 of U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. U.S.2006/0056769 A1 and U.S. 2006/0233496 A1, the entire disclosures ofwhich have been incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment of a bulkhead version of the hybrid fiber/copperconnector assembly, the outer housings of the first and second hybridfiber/copper connectors may be provided with mounting flanges such asshown in FIGS. 8-11 of U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. U.S.2006/0056769 A1 and U.S. 2006/0233496 A1, for mounting the hybridfiber/copper connectors to a bulkhead. Openings defined through theflanges receive removable fasteners such as screws which engage fasteneropenings of the bulkhead.

The bulkhead may form part of any equipment, such as a camera, anenclosure, a cabinet, a panel, etc. Cables from within, for example, acamera or any other equipment, of which the bulkhead may form part of,enter into the cable receiving end of the hybrid fiber/copperconnectors. The hybrid cable, which will have terminated thereto fiberoptic connectors 56 and a conductor mount 96, is coupled to the innerhousing halves of the hybrid fiber/copper connectors as described abovefor the first and second hybrid fiber/copper connectors 12, 14. Itshould be noted that the connector protruding out from the bulkhead maybe a female hybrid fiber/copper connector such as connector 12 or it maybe a male hybrid fiber/copper connector such as connector 14. Oneembodiment of a bulkhead female hybrid fiber/copper connector is shownin FIGS. 65-70 and one embodiment of a bulkhead male hybrid fiber/copperconnector is shown in FIGS. 71-76.

When a female hybrid fiber/copper connector is used with the bulkhead,the fiber optic connectors 56 terminated to a hybrid cable coming fromwithin the bulkhead equipment may be connected to the fiber opticadapters 50 inside the first inner housing half of the first hybridfiber/copper connector. The conductor mount 96 that is terminated to thehybrid cable coming from within the bulkhead equipment may be directlyinserted into the second inner housing half of the female hybridfiber/copper connector and mate with the pins 84 within the pin support80.

In assembling the bulkhead versions, the same steps can be followed asdescribed above for the non bulkhead versions of the female hybridfiber/copper connector 12. Once assembled, the female bulkhead hybridfiber/copper connector will be ready to mate with a male hybridfiber/copper connector 14 such as shown in FIG. 33 of the presentdisclosure.

If a male hybrid fiber/copper connector is used with the bulkhead, thefiber optic connectors 56 terminated to a hybrid cable coming fromwithin the bulkhead equipment are directly inserted into the first innerhousing half of the second (i.e., male) hybrid fiber/copper connector.The conductor mount 96 that is terminated to the hybrid cable comingfrom within the bulkhead equipment is directly inserted into the secondinner housing half of the female hybrid fiber/copper connector and mateswith the pins 218 within the pin support 214.

In assembling the bulkhead version, the same steps can be followed asdescribed above for the non bulkhead versions of the male hybridfiber/copper connector 14. Once assembled, the male bulkhead hybridfiber/copper connector will be ready to mate with a female hybridfiber/copper connector 12 such as shown in FIG. 4 of the presentdisclosure.

Since both hybrid connectors 12, 14 are constructed in modular form withremovable portions, repair or replacement of a damaged component isachieved. It is known for one or more information carrying elementswithin a hybrid cable or the connectors terminating these elements (suchas fiber optic connectors and pin conductors) to be damaged,necessitating repair or replacement of the hybrid fiber/copper connectorassembly. While replacement is possible and is the common response todamage, this solution requires a camera operator to carry an entirespare assembly. Alternatively, to repair a damaged termination, eitherconnector of cable segment could be removed and that cable segment couldbe reterminated. However, retermination is time consuming and isdifficult to accomplish in the field, where the damage is likely tooccur while using the camera. Assembly of the present invention isconstructed to permit individual elements of cable or terminations ofthese elements to be replaced in the field by a camera operator withsimple tools and does not require that the camera operator carry anextensive array of replacement items.

For example, if one of the fiber strands within cable in cable segmentbecomes damaged, and the camera operator can identify the damagedstrand, the camera operator may loosen the cable clamp, remove the firstand second inner housing halves 32, 34 from the outer housing 20 of, forexample, the first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. With interior ofthe inner connector assembly 16 exposed, the fiber connector 56terminating the damaged fiber may be removed from adapter 50 within thefirst inner housing half 32 and moved to one side. A replacement fibersegment, such as a patch cord including ends terminated with fiber opticconnectors 56 may be used.

A similar process may be followed to replace a damaged copper pinconductor.

Referring now to FIGS. 59-61, a second embodiment of a first (i.e.,female gender) hybrid fiber/copper connector 312 that is configured tobe a part of an assembly similar to the hybrid fiber/copper connectorassembly 10 of FIGS. 1-3 is shown. The second embodiment of the femalehybrid fiber/copper connector 312 is similar in configuration to thefirst embodiment of the first hybrid fiber/copper connector 12 shown inFIG. 4, except for a number of differences that will be discussed below.

As discussed previously, in certain embodiments, the fiber opticconnectors 56 that are used with the different male and female hybridfiber/copper connectors may be field terminable. Referring to FIG. 61,the second embodiment of the female hybrid fiber/copper connector 312 isshown with one example of a field terminable fiber optic connectorassembly 305. The field terminable fiber optic assembly 305 shown inFIG. 61 is described in further detail in Patent Application havingAttorney Docket No. 02316.2503U.S.01, entitled “FIELD TERMINABLE FIBEROPTIC CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY”, filed concurrently herewith on the same day,the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Asnoted above, a field terminable fiber optic connector assembly may alsobe used with the first embodiment of the female hybrid fiber/copperconnector 12.

The field terminable fiber optic connector assembly 305 is formed as aninsert that may be inserted into the first inner housing half 332 of thefemale hybrid fiber/copper connector 312. The first inner housing half332 of the second embodiment of the female hybrid fiber/copper connector312 has been specifically configured to receive the field terminablefiber optic connector assembly 305 shown. The fiber optic connectors 356of the field terminable fiber optic connector assembly 305 areconfigured to mate with the fiber optic adapter 50 located within thefirst inner housing half 332.

As discussed previously, a field terminable fiber optic connectorassembly allows a damaged fiber to be repaired in the field using heatsplicing.

It should be noted that the second embodiment of the female hybridfiber/copper connector 312 is not limited to use with the fieldterminable fiber optic connector assembly 305 shown in FIG. 61 and thatit can also house fiber optic connectors whose ferrules have beenpreterminated to optical fibers of a cable at the factory setting, suchas the fiber optic connectors 56 shown in FIG. 28.

As discussed above, the second embodiment of the female hybridfiber/copper connector 312 includes a number of differences from thefirst embodiment 12. One difference lies in the configuration of thestrength member clamp. The body 368 of the second inner housing half 334of the second embodiment of the female hybrid fiber/copper connector 312includes a slot 394 for receiving a strength member clamp bar 432. Thebar 432 includes a throughhole 438 that is configured to receive astrength member of a cable. Once the strength member of a cable isreceived from a cable receiving end 328 of the female hybridfiber/copper connector 312, the strength member is inserted through thehole 438 of the bar 432 and is crimped at opposite side of the hole 438.Once the strength member is inserted through the hole 438, the strengthmember may be crimped to the bar in a number of different ways includingcrimping a crimp ball (e.g., made out of stainless steel in oneembodiment) to the end of the strength member that is larger than thehole 438 of the bar 432. In this manner, removal of the strength memberfrom the bar 432 is prevented. In certain embodiments, the bar 432 maybe made from metallic materials and may provide a grounding path to thestrength member. In one embodiment, the bar 432 is made from stainlesssteel. According to one embodiment, the strength member clamp bar 432depicted herein is rated to hold 225 lbs. of force for about 5 minutes.

Another difference between the second embodiment of the female hybridfiber/copper connector 312 and the first embodiment 12 lies in theconfiguration of the conductor mount 396. The conductor mount 396includes six forwardly protruding conductive pins 400. The lower layerof conductive pins 400 b may be power pins and the upper layer 400 a ofconductive pins may be communications pins. As discussed above, whenused in a broadcast camera environment, one of the optical fibers of thehybrid connector may be used to transmit video and related audio signalsto the camera and the second optical fiber may be used to transmit videoand audio captured by the camera to the production facility or someother location. Four of the copper conductors may be used to providepower to operate the camera, while the other two of copper conductorsmay be used to provide communications between the production facilityand the camera operator. The number of fiber strands and copperconductors extending within the hybrid cable may be varied as requiredto support the desired usage and communication bandwidth of the cameraand the hybrid connectors disclosed herein may be configuredaccordingly.

The second inner housing half 334 of the second embodiment of the femalehybrid fiber/copper connector 312 includes an integrally formedconductor pin support 380 that is configured to mate with the conductormount 396. The conductor pin support 380 defines six channels 382 whichinclude six conductive pins 384 within the channels 382. The forwardends of the conductive pins 400 of the conductor mount 396 are adaptedto be inserted into the channels 382 defined by the pin support 380. Theconductor mount 396 is removably inserted into the body 368 of thesecond inner housing half 334 of the second embodiment of the femalehybrid fiber/copper connector 312 and slid forwardly toward the pinsupport 380 until electrical connection is established. Unlike the firstembodiment of the female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12, the secondembodiment 312 does not include a conductor mount retainer 110. Theconductor mount 396 is held within the body 368 of the second innerhousing half 334 by friction.

The rear ends of the conductive pins are exposed through openings 408defined on the conductor mount 396. The rear ends of the conductive pins400 are terminated to copper wires of a hybrid fiber/copper cable. Sincethe conductor mount 396 is a removable piece, the conductor mount 396can be removed from the second inner housing half 334 of the firsthybrid fiber/copper connector 312 (i.e., female gender connector) andreinserted into the second inner housing of the second hybridfiber/copper connector (i.e., male gender connector) 314 as part of theconversion of the genders of the hybrid connectors 312, 314.

Referring now to FIGS. 62-64, the second embodiment of a second (i.e.,male gender) hybrid fiber/copper connector 314 that is configured tomate with the second embodiment of the female hybrid fiber/copperconnector 312 of FIGS. 59-61 to form an assembly similar to the hybridfiber/copper connector assembly 10 of FIGS. 1-3 is shown. The secondembodiment of the male hybrid fiber/copper connector 314 is similar inconfiguration to the first embodiment of the male hybrid fiber/copperconnector 14 shown in FIG. 33, except for a number of differences.

In FIG. 64, the second embodiment of the male hybrid fiber/copperconnector 314 is shown with the field terminable fiber optic connectorassembly 305, discussed in further detail in Patent Application havingAttorney Docket No. 02316.2503U.S.01, entitled “FIELD TERMINABLE FIBEROPTIC CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY”, filed concurrently herewith on the same day,the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

As noted above, a field terminable fiber optic connector assembly mayalso be used with the first embodiment of the male hybrid fiber/copperconnector 14.

The field terminable fiber optic connector assembly 305 is formed as aninsert that may be inserted into the first inner housing half 470 of themale hybrid fiber/copper connector 314. The first inner housing half 470of the second embodiment of the male hybrid fiber/copper connector 314has been specifically configured to receive the field terminable fiberoptic connector assembly 305 shown. A connector retainer 492 is placedover the fiber optic connectors 356 once the field terminable fiberoptic connector assembly 305 is placed within the first inner housinghalf 470, as shown in FIG. 64. When the second embodiment of the malehybrid fiber/copper connector 314 is mated to the second embodiment ofthe female hybrid fiber/copper connector 312 shown in FIGS. 59-61, thefiber optic connectors 356 of the field terminable fiber optic connectorassembly 305 mate with the fiber optic adapter 50 located within thefirst inner housing half 332 of the female hybrid fiber/copper connector312.

It should be noted that the second embodiment of the male hybridfiber/copper connector 314 is not limited to use with the fieldterminable fiber optic connector assembly 305 shown in FIG. 64 and thatit can also house fiber optic connectors whose ferrules have beenpreterminated to optical fibers of a cable at the factory setting, suchas the fiber optic connectors 56 shown in FIG. 33.

As shown in FIG. 64, the fiber optic connectors 356 are mounted withinthe first inner housing half 470 of the second embodiment of the malehybrid fiber/copper connector 314 in an upside down orientation ascompared to the first embodiment 14. However, as in the first embodiment14, the connector retainer 492 of the second embodiment 314 alsoincludes ramped tabs 495 underneath thereof. The ramped tabs 495 pressagainst the bottom side of the fiber optic connectors 356 and cause thecantilever snap fit structures 497 at the opposite side to be flexedagainst the body 474 of the first inner housing half 470. In thismanner, when the fiber optic connectors 356 of the field terminablefiber optic connector assembly 305 are coupled to a fiber optic adapter50 (e.g., of the female hybrid fiber/copper connector), the fiber opticconnectors 356 do not lock into the fiber optic adapter 50.

As discussed above, the second embodiment of the male hybridfiber/copper connector 314 includes a number of differences from thefirst embodiment 14.

Referring to FIG. 64, as in the female counterpart, one difference liesin the configuration of the strength member. The strength member clampin the form of a bar 432 with a hole 438 is used. As in the femalecounterpart, once the strength member of a cable is received from acable receiving end 330 of the male hybrid fiber/copper connector 314,the strength member is inserted through the hole 438 of the bar 432 andis crimped at opposite side of the hole 438 with a crimp ball (e.g.,made out of stainless steel).

Still referring to FIG. 64, the second inner housing half 472 of thesecond embodiment of the male hybrid fiber/copper connector 314 isconfigured to receive a conductor mount that is identical to theconductor mount 396 shown in FIG. 61. Thus, the integrally formed pinsupport 514 adjacent the mating end 507 of the second inner housing half472 is configured to receive the forward ends 402 of the six conductivepins 400 of the conductor mount 396. The six conductive pins 400 of theconductor mount 396 establish an electrical connection with theconductive pins 518 within the conductor pin support 514. Each of theconductive pins 518 includes a female end and forwardly protruding maleend and are generally permanently mounted within the pin support 514.

Again, as in the second embodiment of the female hybrid fiber/copperconnector 312, the second embodiment of the male hybrid fiber/copperconnector 314 does not include a conductor mount retainer. The conductormount 396 is held within the body 504 of the second inner housing half472 by friction.

Since the conductor mount 396 is a removable piece, the conductor mount396 can be removed from the second inner housing half 472 of the malehybrid fiber/copper connector 314 and reinserted into the second innerhousing 334 of the female hybrid fiber/copper connector 312 as part ofthe conversion of the genders of the hybrid connectors 312, 314.

As noted previously, instead of being provided to connect two cablesegments, the female hybrid fiber/copper connector or the male hybridfiber/copper connector can be provided as part of a bulkheadconfiguration such as seen in FIGS. 8-11 of U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication Nos. U.S. 2006/0056769 A1 and U.S. 2006/0233496 A1, theentire disclosures of which have been incorporated herein by reference.

The bulkhead may form part of any equipment, such as a camera, anenclosure, a cabinet, a panel, etc. Cables from within, for example, acamera or any other equipment, of which the bulkhead may form part of,enter into the cable receiving end of the hybrid fiber/copperconnectors. The hybrid cable, which will have terminated thereto fiberoptic connectors and a conductor mount, is coupled to the inner housinghalves of the hybrid fiber/copper connectors as described above for thefirst and second hybrid fiber/copper connectors. It should be noted thatthe connector protruding out from the bulkhead may be a female hybridfiber/copper connector or it may be a male hybrid fiber/copperconnector.

Referring to FIGS. 65-70, one embodiment of a bulkhead female hybridfiber/copper connector 612 is shown. The bulkhead female hybridconnector 612 includes a bulkhead mounting panel 609, an outer housing620, a first inner housing half 632, and a second inner housing half634. The first inner housing half 632 is configured to hold the fibercomponents of the bulkhead female connector 612 while the second innerhousing half 634 is configured to hold the electrical/copper componentsof the bulkhead female connector 612. The first and the second innerhousing halves 632, 634 detachably mate together and are inserted intothe outer housing 620 of the bulkhead female hybrid fiber/copperconnector 612. After insertion, the outer housing 620 is fastened to thebulkhead mounting panel 609. The bulkhead mounting panel 609 includesfastener holes 607 for mounting to a bulkhead.

As shown in FIG. 67, the outer housing 620 includes a mating end 754 anda cable receiving end 628. A grounding spring 605 is inserted into theouter housing 620. The grounding spring 605 is configured to makecontact with the outer housing 22 of a male hybrid fiber/copperconnector 14 for grounding the entire hybrid assembly. As shown in thecross-sectional view in FIG. 70, the grounding spring 605 is insertedwithin a circumferential recess 604 of the interior of the outer housing620. The interior surface of the grounding spring 605 makes contact withthe exterior surface of the intermediate circumferential wall 160 of theouter housing 22 of a male hybrid connector 14 for establishing agrounding pathway between the two outer housings 620, 22.

After the first and second inner housing halves 632, 634 are insertedinto the outer housing 620 from the cable receiving end 628, the cablereceiving end 628 is inserted through an opening 603 in the panel 609and fastened to the panel 609 with a nut 601. A grounding ring 611 iscaptured between the nut 601 and the panel 609 as the outer housing 620is fastened to the panel 609. The outer housing 620 includes acircumferential flange portion 613 that is configured to capture ano-ring 615 against the panel 609 for providing a watertight seal. Theo-ring 615 is shown in the cross-sectional view in FIG. 70.

As shown in FIG. 67, the cable receiving end 628 of the outer housing620 and the opening 603 of the panel 609 may include intermating flatsfor keying purposes.

The mating end 754 of the outer housing 620 is preferably configured tomate with the outer housing 22 of the male hybrid fiber/copper connector14 shown in FIG. 54. As such, the mating end 754 of the outer housing620 includes a plurality of circumferentially arranged ball bearings 756that are configured to engage a circumferential recess 158 defined on anintermediate circumferential wall 160 of the outer housing 22 of themale hybrid fiber/copper connector 14. When the outer housing 620 of thebulkhead female hybrid connector 612 is coupled to the outer housing 22of the male hybrid connector 14, the sliding ring 162 of the outerhousing 22 of the male hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 is slid over themating end 754 and the ball bearings 756 of the outer housing 620 of thebulkhead female hybrid connector 612 to hold the two hybrid fiber/copperconnectors in a mated configuration. The sliding locking ring 162 of theouter housing 22 of the male hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 and therecess 158 for receiving the ball bearings 756 is illustrated in FIGS.1-3 and 54. The sliding ring 162 is spring biased toward a lockingposition to hold the ball bearings 756 against the recess 158 on theintermediate circumferential wall 160 of the outer housing 22 of themale hybrid fiber/copper connector 14.

The cable receiving end 628 of the bulkhead female hybrid connector 612is configured to threadingly receive an end cap 624. A hybrid cablesegment that includes preterminated fiber optic connectors and alsocopper conductors may be inserted through the end cap 624 to mate withthe fiber and copper components of the bulkhead female hybrid connector612, as will be discussed below.

Still referring to FIG. 67, the first inner housing half 632 of thebulkhead female hybrid fiber/copper connector 612 includes a body 636with a fiber optic adapter 50 removably mounted to the body 636. Thefiber optic adapter 50 may be mounted to the body 636 in the same manneras in the first inner housing half 32 of the female hybrid connector 12of FIGS. 4-9. The fiber optic adapter 50 mounted to the first housinghalf 632 is illustrated in FIG. 10. As depicted, the fiber optic adapter50 is a duplex adapter including a front end and a rear end. Two fiberoptic connectors mounted into the front end of the fiber optic adapter50 can optically mate with two fiber optic connectors mounted into therear end of the fiber optic adapter 50. As depicted, the adapter 50 isconfigured to receive and optically connect two pairs of LX.5 typeconnectors. Other connector and adapter formats can also be used.

Still referring to FIG. 67, the body 636 includes a mating end 640 and acable receiving end 642. The first inner housing half 632 definesalignment features for cooperatively mating with the second innerhousing half 634 of the bulkhead female hybrid connector 612. The matingend 640 of the body 636 of the first inner housing half 632 includes anexterior recessed portion 664 defined on a first side 666 of the body636. The recessed portion 664 is configured to act as a keying featurewhen a male hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 is mated to the bulkheadfemale hybrid fiber/copper connector 612. In this manner, the correctorientation of the mating ends of the bulkhead female and the malehybrid connectors 612, 14 are obtained when the two hybrid connectorsare mated.

The second inner housing half 634 is configured to house the coppercomponents of the bulkhead female hybrid fiber/copper connector 612. Thesecond inner housing half 634 includes a body 668 with a mating end 672and a cable receiving end 674. The second inner housing half 634includes an alignment pin 676 and a pin opening 678 for cooperativelymating with a corresponding pin and opening of the first inner housinghalf 632.

The second inner housing half 634 includes an integrally formedconductor pin support 680 adjacent the mating end 672. The conductor pinsupport 680 defines six channels 682. The channels 682 include thereinsix conductive pins 684. Each of the six conductive pins 684 includestwo female ends. The conductive pins 684 are generally permanentlymounted within the pin support 680 and form a part of the second innerhousing half 634.

As in the first inner housing half 632, the second inner housing half634 defines an exterior recessed portion 688 on a first side 690 of thepin support 680. The recess 688 is configured align with the recess 664of the first inner housing half 632 when the two housing halves 632, 634are joined to define a big recess. The big recess acts as a keyingfeature when the bulkhead female hybrid fiber/copper connector 612 ismated to a male hybrid fiber/copper connector 14 such that the correctorientation of the mating ends of the two hybrid connectors areobtained.

The cable receiving end of the body 674 of the second inner housing half634 is configured to receive a removable conductor mount. The conductormount is identical to the conductor mount 396 shown in FIGS. 61 and 64.The conductor mount 396 includes six forwardly protruding conductivepins 400. The forward ends of the conductive pins 400 are adapted to beinserted within the channels 682 defined by the pin support 680 at themating end 672 of the second inner housing half 634. The conductor mount396 is removably inserted into a recess 704 in the interior 670 of thebody 668 and slid forwardly toward the pin support 680. The conductormount 396 is slid until the conductive pins 400 physically andelectrically mate with the rear female ends of the conductive pins 684in the channels 682 of the pin support 680.

Referring to FIG. 66, the rear ends 406 of the conductive pins 400 areexposed through openings 408 defined on the conductor mount 396. Therear ends 406 of the conductive pins 400 may be terminated to copperwires of a hybrid fiber/copper cable. Since the conductor mount 396 is aremovable piece, the conductor mount 396 can be removed from the secondinner housing half 634 of the bulkhead female hybrid fiber/copperconnector 612 and reinserted into a second inner housing 772 of abulkhead male hybrid fiber/copper connector 614, as will be discussedfurther below. In this manner, the gender of a bulkhead hybrid connectormay be changed.

In FIGS. 65, 66, and 68-70, the bulkhead female hybrid connector 612 isshown in an assembled configuration. The fiber optic adapter 50 in thefirst inner housing half 632 is configured to receive a pair of fiberoptic connectors 56 which may be terminated to the optical fibers of ahybrid fiber/copper cable. During a gender conversion, the fiber opticconnectors 56, just like the conductor mount 396 of the second innerhousing half 634, may be removed from the fiber optic adapter 50 andfrom the first inner housing half 632 and remounted within a firsthousing half of a bulkhead male hybrid fiber/copper connector 614, toconvert the gender of the bulkhead hybrid fiber/copper connector. Anexample of such a male gender bulkhead connector 614 having two maleinner housing halves is shown in FIGS. 71-76.

The second, male gender, bulkhead hybrid fiber/copper connector 614 isillustrated in an exploded configuration in FIG. 73. The bulkhead malehybrid fiber/copper connector 614 includes a bulkhead mounting panel909, an outer housing 622, a first inner housing half 770, and a secondinner housing half 772. As in the female counterpart, the first innerhousing half 770 is configured to hold the fiber components of thebulkhead male connector 614 while the second inner housing half 772 isconfigured to hold the electrical/copper components of the bulkhead maleconnector 614. The first and the second inner housing halves 770, 772detachably mate together and are inserted into the outer housing 622 ofthe bulkhead male hybrid fiber/copper connector 614. After insertion,the outer housing 622 is fastened to the panel 909.

As shown in FIG. 73, the outer housing 622 includes a mating end 900 anda cable receiving end 630. The cable receiving end 630 includes threads901. After the first and second inner housing halves 770, 772 areinserted into the outer housing 622 from the cable receiving end 630,the cable receiving end 630 is inserted through an opening 902 in thepanel 909 and fastened to the panel 909 with a nut 903. A grounding ring904 is captured between the nut 903 and the panel 909 as the outerhousing 622 is fastened to the panel 909. An o-ring 905 is capturedbetween a circumferential flange portion 906 of the outer housing 622and the panel 909 for providing a watertight seal. The o-ring 905 isshown in the cross-sectional view in FIG. 76. An end cap 626 isthreadingly mated to the cable receiving end 630 of the outer housing622 of the bulkhead male hybrid fiber/copper connector 614.

As shown in FIG. 73, the cable receiving end 630 of the outer housing622 and the opening 902 of the panel 909 may include intermating flatsfor keying purposes.

The mating end 900 of the outer housing 622 is configured to mate withthe outer housing 20 of the female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12shown in FIG. 30. Referring to FIG. 76, when the outer housing 20 of thefemale hybrid fiber/copper connector 12 is coupled to the outer housing622 of the bulkhead male hybrid connector 614, a sliding ring 762 of theouter housing 622 of the bulkhead male hybrid fiber/copper connector 614is slid over the mating end 154 and the ball bearings 156 of the outerhousing 20 of the female hybrid connector 12 to hold the two hybridfiber/copper connectors in a mated configuration. The sliding ring 762is spring biased toward a locking position to hold the ball bearings 156against a recess 758 on an intermediate circumferential wall 760 of theouter housing 622 of the bulkhead male hybrid fiber/copper connector614.

Now referring to FIG. 73, as in the bulkhead female hybrid fiber/copperconnector 612, the first inner housing half 770 of the bulkhead malehybrid connector 614 is configured to hold the fiber components of theconnector while the second inner housing half 772 is configured to holdthe electrical/copper components of the connector. The first innerhousing half 770 includes an elongated body 774 defining an interior 776including a mating end 778 and a cable receiving end 780. The firstinner housing half 770 defines an alignment pin 782 and a pin opening783 for cooperatively mating with the second inner housing half 772.

Adjacent the mating end 778 of the first inner housing half 770 are apair of longitudinal slots 784 configured to hold a pair of fiber opticconnectors 56. The fiber optic connectors 56 are shown in FIG. 76. Itshould be noted that the first inner housing half 770 may receive eitherfactory preterminated fiber optic connectors or may be configured toreceive an insert in the form of a field terminable fiber opticconnector assembly, as shown in FIG. 64. In the depicted embodiment, thefirst inner housing half 770 is configured to receive factorypreterminated fiber optic connectors 56. The fiber optic connectors 56are inserted in a side-by-side orientation, extending out forwardly fromthe mating end 778 of the first inner housing half 770. The longitudinalslots 784 are configured to align the fiber optic connectors 56 with afiber optic adapter 50 of a female hybrid connector 12 when the twohybrid connectors are mated.

Still referring to FIG. 73, the first inner housing half 770 defines aforwardly protruding tab 786 at the mating end 778 of the first innerhousing half 770. The tab 786 is located on a first side 788 of the body774. The tab 786 is configured to mate with the recess 64 defined on thebody 36 of the first inner housing half 32 of a female hybridfiber/copper connector 12 to act as a keying feature when the bulkheadmale hybrid fiber/copper connector 614 is mated to a female hybridfiber/copper connector 12. In this manner, the correct orientation ofthe mating ends are obtained when the two hybrid connectors are mated.As will be discussed below, the second inner housing half 772 of thebulkhead male hybrid fiber/copper connector 614 also includes aforwardly extending tab 790 that aligns with the tab 786 of the firstinner housing half 770. The two tabs 786, 790 together form a large tabthat engages the large recess defined on the combined inner housings 32,34 of a female hybrid connector 12. The two tabs 786, 790 also act toprotect the fiber optic connectors 56 as the tabs 786, 790 extendalongside of the fiber optic connectors 56.

A connector retainer 792 configured to be placed over the fiber opticconnectors 56 is shown in FIG. 73. The connector retainer 792 is similarin configuration to the connector retainer shown in FIGS. 33, 39-42, and64 and performs the same function.

As noted above, the fiber optic connectors 56 that are inserted directlyinto the first inner housing half 770 of the bulkhead male hybridfiber/copper connector 614 or that are connected to the fiber opticadapter 50 within the first inner housing half 632 of the bulkheadfemale hybrid fiber/copper connector 612 are terminated to the opticalfibers of a hybrid fiber/copper cable segment. In certain embodiments,the optical fibers of the cable segment may be terminated to theferrules of the fiber optic connectors as known in the art and in otherembodiments, the fiber optic connectors may be field-terminable.

Referring back to FIG. 73, the second inner housing half 772 includes anelongated body 804 defining an interior 806. The body 804 includes amating end 807 and a cable receiving end 808. Similar to the first innerhousing half 770, the second inner housing half 772 includes analignment pin and a pin opening for cooperatively mating with thecorresponding pin 782 and opening 783 of the first inner housing half770.

Adjacent the mating end 807 of the second inner housing half 772 is anintegrally formed conductor pin support 814. The conductor pin support814 defines six channels for nesting six conductive pins. Each of thesix conductive pins includes a female end and a forwardly protrudingmale end. The conductive pins are generally permanently mounted withinthe pin support 814 and form a part of the second inner housing half772.

As in the first inner housing half 770, at the mating end 807 of thesecond inner housing half 772, there is a tab 790 protruding forwardlydefined on a first side 826 of the body 804. The tab 790 is configuredto mate with the recess 88 defined on the body 68 of the second innerhousing half 34 of a female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12 to act as akeying feature when the bulkhead male hybrid fiber/copper connector 614is mated to a female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. In this manner,the correct orientation of the mating ends are obtained when the twohybrid connectors are mated. The tab 790 aligns with the tab 786 of thefirst inner housing half to form a large tab. The large tab engages thelarge recess defined on the combined inner housings of a female hybridfiber/copper connector 12. As discussed above, the two tabs 786, 790also act to protect the fiber optic connectors 56 as the tabs extend786, 790 alongside of the fiber optic connectors 56.

The interior 806 of the second inner housing half 772 is configured toreceive a conductor mount that is identical to the conductor mount 396shown in FIGS. 61 and 64. The forward ends 402 of the conductive pins400 are adapted to be inserted within the channels defined by the pinsupport 814 at the mating end 807 of the second inner housing half 772.The conductor mount 396 is inserted into a recess in the interior 806 ofthe body 804 and slid forwardly toward the pin support 814 until theconductive pins 400 physically and electrically mate with the femaleends of the conductive pins that are in the channels of the pin support814. The male ends of the conductive pins protrude out for electricallymating with the female ends 86 of the conductive pins 84 of a femalehybrid fiber/copper connector 12.

As in the bulkhead female hybrid fiber/copper connector 612, the rearends 406 of the conductive pins 400 are exposed through openings 408defined on the conductor mount 396. The rear ends 406 of the conductivepins 400 are terminated to copper wires of a hybrid fiber/copper cable,just as in the bulkhead female hybrid fiber/copper connector 612. And,since the conductor mount 396 can be removed from the second innerhousing half 772 of the bulkhead male hybrid fiber/copper connector 614and reinserted into the second inner housing half 634 of a bulkheadfemale hybrid fiber/copper connector 612, the gender of the bulkheadhybrid connector can be converted.

The first inner housing half 770 is configured to receive a pair offiber optic connectors 56 which may be terminated to the optical fibersof a hybrid fiber/copper cable. The fiber optic connectors 56 areretained by the connector retainer 792 and the cantilever snap fitstructures are pressed against the body of the first inner housing half770 to prevent locking of the fiber optic connectors 56 within the fiberoptic adapter 50 of a female hybrid fiber/copper connector 12. The fiberoptic connectors (whether be factory terminated fiber optic connectorsor fiber optic connectors that are part of a field terminable fiberoptic connector assembly), just like the conductor mount 396 of thesecond inner housing half 772, may be removed from the first innerhousing half 770 of the bulkhead male hybrid fiber/copper connector 614and remounted within a first housing half 632 of a bulkhead femalehybrid fiber/copper connector 612 (to the fiber optic adapter therein),to convert the gender of the bulkhead hybrid fiber/copper connector.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the inventive aspects of thepresent disclosure. Since many embodiments of the inventive aspects canbe made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure,the inventive aspects reside in the claims hereinafter appended.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hybrid fiber/copper connector assemblycomprising: a first hybrid fiber/copper connector including a firsthousing with a mating end and a cable entry end; and a second hybridfiber/copper connector including a second housing with a mating end thatis adapted to mate with the mating end of the first hybrid fiber/copperconnector and a cable entry end; wherein the first hybrid fiber/copperconnector includes at least one fiber optic adapter removably mountedwithin the first housing adjacent the mating end and at least oneelectrical pin carried by a conductor mount that is removably mountedwithin the first housing adjacent the mating end, the electrical pin ofthe removable conductor mount configured to make electrical contact withan electrical pin stationarily mounted within the first housing; whereinthe second hybrid fiber/copper connector includes a removable insertwith at least one fiber optic connector and a V-groove chip, the fiberoptic connector being a field-repairable fiber optic connector, theV-groove chip including a V-groove for aligning a first segment ofoptical fiber terminated to the fiber optic connector and a secondsegment of optical fiber coming from outside the hybrid fiber/copperconnector assembly, the insert mounted within the second housingadjacent the mating end, the second hybrid fiber/copper connector alsoincluding at least one electrical pin conductor carried by a conductormount that is removably mounted within the second housing adjacent themating end, the electrical pin of the removable conductor mountconfigured to make electrical contact with an electrical pinstationarily mounted within the second housing; wherein the fiber opticconnector of the second hybrid fiber/copper connector is configured tomate with the fiber optic adapter of the first hybrid fiber/copperconnector and the electrical pin conductor carried by the removablymounted conductor mount of the second hybrid fiber/copper connector isadapted to electrically mate with the electrical pin conductor carriedby the removably mounted conductor mount of the first hybridfiber/copper connector.
 2. The connector assembly of claim 1, whereinthe electrical pin conductor carried by the removably mounted conductormount of the second hybrid fiber/copper connector electrically mateswith the electrical pin conductor carried by the removably mountedconductor mount of the first hybrid fiber/copper connector through thestationarily mounted electrical pins of the first and the second hybridfiber/copper connectors.
 3. The connector assembly of claim 1, whereinthe fiber optic connector is an LX.5 format connector.
 4. The connectorassembly of claim 1, wherein the insert includes two fiber opticconnectors and the V-groove chip includes two V-grooves for aligningsegments of optical fiber terminated to each of the fiber opticconnectors with segments of optical fiber coming from outside theconnector assembly.
 5. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein theremovably mounted conductor mounts of the first and second hybridfiber/copper connectors are identically configured.
 6. The connectorassembly of claim 1, wherein each of the first and the second hybridfiber/copper connectors includes a cable strength member clamp.
 7. Theconnector assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the first and secondhybrid fiber/copper connectors includes an end cap adapted to mate withthe cable entry end of the first and second housings, respectively, theend cap including a cable clamp with a throughhole for receiving acable, the cable clamp configured to radially clamp the cable to thefirst and second housings once the cable has been received through thehole of the end cap.
 8. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein thefirst segment of optical fiber terminated to the fiber optic connectorand the second segment of optical fiber coming from outside the hybridfiber/copper connector assembly are heat-spliced.
 9. The connectorassembly of claim 1, wherein the conductor mount carries six electricalpins.
 10. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the fiber opticadapter is a duplex adapter.
 11. A hybrid fiber/copper connectorcomprising: a first housing with a mating end and a cable entry end; atleast one fiber optic adapter removably mounted within the first housingadjacent the mating end; an insert removably mounted within the firsthousing adjacent the mating end, the insert including at least one fiberoptic connector and a V-groove chip, the fiber optic connector being afield-repairable fiber optic connector that is mounted to the fiberoptic adapter, the V-groove chip including a V-groove for aligning afirst segment of optical fiber terminated to the fiber optic connectorand a second segment of optical fiber coming from outside the hybridfiber/copper connector; and at least one electrical pin carried by aconductor mount that is removably mounted within the first housingadjacent the mating end, the electrical pin of the removable conductormount configured to make electrical contact with an electrical pinstationarily mounted within the first housing.
 12. The connector ofclaim 11, wherein the insert includes two fiber optic connectors and theV-groove chip includes two V-grooves for aligning segments of opticalfiber terminated to each of the fiber optic connectors with segments ofoptical fiber coming from outside the hybrid fiber/copper connector. 13.The connector of claim 11, wherein the hybrid fiber/copper connector isconfigured to receive six electrical terminations.
 14. The connector ofclaim 11, further comprising a cable strength member clamp.
 15. Theconnector of claim 11, wherein the first segment of optical fiberterminated to the fiber optic connector and the second segment ofoptical fiber coming from outside the hybrid fiber/copper connector areheat-spliced.
 16. A hybrid fiber/copper connector comprising: a firsthousing with a mating end and a cable entry end, an insert removablymounted within the first housing adjacent the mating end, the insertincluding at least one fiber optic connector and a V-groove chip, thefiber optic connector being a field-repairable fiber optic connector,the V-groove chip including a V-groove for aligning a first segment ofoptical fiber terminated to the fiber optic connector and a secondsegment of optical fiber coming from outside the hybrid fiber/copperconnector; and at least one electrical pin carried by a conductor mountthat is removably mounted within the first housing adjacent the matingend, the electrical pin of the removable conductor mount configured tomake electrical contact with an electrical pin stationarily mountedwithin the first housing.
 17. The connector of claim 16, wherein thefiber optic connector is an LX.5 format fiber optic connector.
 18. Theconnector of claim 16, wherein the insert includes two fiber opticconnectors and the V-groove chip includes two V-grooves for aligningsegments of optical fiber terminated to each of the fiber opticconnectors with segments of optical fiber coming from outside the hybridfiber/copper connector.
 19. The connector of claim 16, wherein thehybrid fiber/copper connector is configured to receive six electricalterminations.
 20. The connector of claim 16, further comprising a cablestrength member clamp.
 21. The connector of claim 16, wherein the firstsegment of optical fiber terminated to the fiber optic connector and thesecond segment of optical fiber coming from outside the hybridfiber/copper connector are heat-spliced.
 22. A method of assembling ahybrid fiber/copper connector comprising: providing a first housing witha mating end and a cable entry end; removing a fiber optic adapter fromwithin the first housing; removing an insert from the first housing byremoving a fiber optic connector mounted on the insert from the fiberoptic adapter, the insert including a V-groove chip, the V-groove chipincluding a V-groove for aligning a first segment of optical fiberterminated to the fiber optic connector and a second segment of opticalfiber coming from outside the hybrid fiber/copper connector; removing aconductor mount having electrical pins from electrical contact withelectrical pins stationarily mounted within the first housing; providinga second housing with a mating end and a cable entry end; mounting theinsert including the fiber optic connector and the V-groove chip to thesecond housing; and mounting the conductor mount having electrical pinswithin the second housing to make electrical contact with electricalpins stationarily mounted within the second housing.
 23. A method ofassembling a hybrid fiber/copper connector comprising: providing a firsthousing with a mating end and a cable entry end; removing an insert fromthe first housing, the insert including at least one fiber opticconnector and a V-groove chip, the V-groove chip including a V-groovefor aligning a first segment of optical fiber terminated to the fiberoptic connector and a second segment of optical fiber coming fromoutside the hybrid fiber/copper connector; removing a conductor mounthaving electrical pins from electrical contact with electrical pinsstationarily mounted within the first housing; providing a secondhousing with a mating end and a cable entry end; mounting a fiber opticadapter to the second housing; mounting the at least one fiber opticconnector of the insert having the V-groove chip to the fiber opticadapter within the second housing; and mounting the conductor mounthaving electrical pins within the second housing to make electricalcontact with electrical pins stationarily mounted within the secondhousing.
 24. A hybrid fiber/copper connector comprising: a first housingwith a mating end and a cable entry end, the first housing removablymounted to an opening in a panel, at least one fiber optic adapterremovably mounted within the first housing adjacent the mating end; anelectrical pin stationarily mounted within the first housing; and atleast one electrical pin carried by a conductor mount that is removablymounted within the first housing adjacent the mating end, the electricalpin of the removable conductor mount configured to make electricalcontact with the electrical pin stationarily mounted within the firsthousing.
 25. The connector of claim 24, wherein the cable entry end ofthe first housing includes threads and the first housing is mounted tothe panel by inserting the cable entry end of the first housing throughthe opening of the panel and threading a nut over the cable entry end ofthe first housing.
 26. The connector of claim 24, wherein the firsthousing is sealed against the opening of the panel with an o-ring. 27.The connector of claim 24, wherein the at least one fiber optic adapteris a duplex adapter.
 28. A hybrid fiber/copper connector comprising: afirst housing with a mating end and a cable entry end, the first housingremovably mounted to an opening in a panel, at least one fiber opticconnector removably mounted within the first housing adjacent the matingend; an electrical pin stationarily mounted within the first housing;and at least one electrical pin carried by a conductor mount that isremovably mounted within the first housing adjacent the mating end, theelectrical pin of the removable conductor mount configured to makeelectrical contact with the electrical pin stationarily mounted withinthe first housing.
 29. The connector of claim 28, wherein the cableentry end of the first housing includes threads and the first housing ismounted to the panel by inserting the cable entry end of the firsthousing through the opening of the panel and threading a nut over thecable entry end of the first housing.
 30. The connector of claim 28,wherein the first housing is sealed against the opening of the panelwith an o-ring.
 31. The connector of claim 28, wherein two fiber opticconnectors are removably mounted within the first housing.